Friday, May 15, 2009

The heat of summer is upon us here in the Deep South! Thank goodness for A/C and the JumpZone!!! We have a gym here in Madison that has a room full of inflatables for the kids to jump on and slide down to their hearts content! It is a great way to spend a hot afternoon! In the last two days, we have had two birthday parties to attend there! My friend Shea captured some wonderful pictures of the kids and I thought I would share them! I have NO Short Term Memory and Can't remember which ones I uploaded here! So I am not even going to try and write captions! Just have fun looking at the kids having fun! (The sweat is from playing so hard, not because it is hot! Believe me they keep it like a freezer in there!)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

I just had to share, because:1. I am SOOO excited!2. It really is pretty dead on.3. And this is one of my favorite movies of all time!!!

I took the Which Steel Magnolia Are You Quiz on Facebook and here are my results:

Shelby Eatenton Latcherie (Julia Roberts' character)

You are Shelby. You are a breath of fresh air! You are the girl next door, America's sweetheart, and you love to laugh! You may make impulsive decisions because you would "rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special." Although you're a southern belle at heart (and your signature color may even be "blush" or "bashful"), you still get caught doing things from time to time that might even "frighten the fish"! You're a risk taker, sometimes at a cost to yourself, so slow down. You may make a decision in haste that you'll someday regret!

Last night I went with friends to go see Star Trek! It was the BEST movie I have seen in a while! I loved it!!! The only thing missing was my brothers! I was in NO way a tomboy growing up, but I was raised with two brothers! This meant that when it was time to go to the movies as a family, my choice rarely won! So over and over I was forced to watch Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, and any other "boy" movie you can imagine!Now though...I am eternally grateful! My boys think I am so cool because I know that Hans Solo and Indy are the same man!!!! So, when the opportunity came to go see the new Star Trek, I couldn't pass it up! I wanted to screen it before allowing my kids to watch it (which I will definitely be doing) but I also just really wanted to watch it! If you get the chance to watch this movie...DO IT!!! You will not regret spending 2 hours in the cool air conditioning of the movie theatre and watching a movie that is non-stop action from beginning to end! And to both my brothers...I wish you were here to go see it with me! It's just not the same without the two of you!!

Ok, now for the second part of this post! I have made no secret of the fact that I have not felt well for a while, but it looks like an end is in sight! I had a phone appointment today with a doctor in Arizona! I recently sent in some saliva samples to have all my hormone levels tested and it looks like that is the problem! Without going into details I just want to share that there is a plan in place to get me back to me!!! I can't wait!!! So, once my prescriptions get here, I will keep you all posted on my progress! If nothing else comes from this, I have learned to listen to my body! Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family who have helped, prayed, and listened over the last few months!!! I hope one day I can do the same for all of you!

One last thing before I close this one out! Today is my baby brother's 28th birthday! I hope it's a good one Josh! We Miss You!! Happy Birthday!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Some days I think God looks right into my heart, my head,and my life and knows EXACTLY what I need to hear! This morning when I got up to do my devotion I was awestruck at his pinpoint accuracy! One of the things I do every morning is read my daily couples devotion from Crosswalk.com. This is what I read this morning:

A Mother's Influence by Barbara RaineyProverbs 1:8And do not forsake your mother's teaching.

As a mother, I have my days when everything is relatively easy and I wonder why I ever struggle. The children are loving to one another and circumstances seem to flow smoothly.But there are other days when I wonder if it will ever be fun again. I struggle with guilt and discouragement. Will these children ever grow up to walk with the Lord? Am I ruining my kids for life!?

Because of my humanity, my identity is subject to attack by my emotions, by other people's perceptions and expectations, and by my abilities and failures. Learning the truth about myself and standing on that truth is a lifelong process.

I believe that if I persevere, God will give me a ministry of influence to the next generation. Most ministry activity is by adults to their own generation, but mothers can literally shape the future. President Teddy Roosevelt once said:

When all is said, it is the mother, and the mother only, who is a better citizen than the soldier who fights for his country. The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls, who are to be the men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community, and occupies, if she only would realize it, a more honorable as well as more important position than any man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of the national life. She is more important, by far, than the successful statesman, or businessman, or artist, or scientist.

To have that influence on the future through my children demands that I objectively evaluate my life as a mother in light of that goal.

Isn't God good!!! I'm not real sure why this was in the "couples devotions" But Whatever Works!!!! God got it to me! It is nice to be reminded that I am doing the right thing! That even when I feel like I get nothing accomplished in a day, I am doing the most important job! I am raising my kids to love the Lord and love others! I am encouraged to keep pressing on! To stay on the path he has laid for me! I hope it brings some of you the same encouragement!